


Slow Realisation

by icanseethroughtimesstuff



Series: Thasmin Week [7]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Humor, Romance, Thirsty Yaz, oblivious doctor, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 09:11:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17578019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icanseethroughtimesstuff/pseuds/icanseethroughtimesstuff
Summary: Over time, Yaz realises just what it is she's feeling for the Doctor





	Slow Realisation

**Author's Note:**

> For Thasmin Week. 26/1 First I Love You. Sorry it's a bit late, have had a mega-busy weekend, enjoy!

“Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have told Napoleon his hat looked a bit silly,” the Doctor said, doubled over and gasping for breath once they were safely back in the console room, “but someone had to tell him.”

The gang had decided to have a relaxing trip to 1920s Paris after the stressful events of the New Year Dalek attack.  The Tardis had decided to drop them off in 1805 instead, right in the middle of Napoleon’s camp.  They were dragged into his presence but rather than attempt to be diplomatic the Doctor had managed to put her foot squarely in her mouth within the first few minutes of conversation.  This had resulted in them running for their lives and diving into the Tardis.

“You didn’t have to call him ‘Shorty’ though,” Graham wheezed out from the pillar he was leaning against.

The Doctor frowned and put up a finger, opening her mouth as if to defend herself, then scrunched her face and shrugged.  “Yeah that’s fair.  Still, you all got to meet Napoleon, that’s pretty exciting right?”  She clapped her hands together with enthusiasm before charging off towards the console, setting the controls moving and whirring as they disappeared off into the time vortex.

“Doctor,” Yaz said, approaching her, “you’ve got something in your hair.”  As they’d been running away on the uneven ground, the Doctor had stumbled over a rock and face planted into the dirt before quickly scrambling back to her feet and charging off again.  In truth her whole face was probably covered in mud, but Yaz’s eyes seemed to be focused on her hair.

She reached up and gently pulled a few pieces of grass out, her hand hesitating near the Doctor’s face.  “Thank you Yaz,” the Doctor said quietly, feeling her hearts pick up their rhythm at the close proximity.  Yaz didn’t look like she wanted to move away any time soon.  The blades of grass dropped from her fingers but her hand stayed where in was, hovering near the Doctor’s cheek.

They both jumped apart at the sound of a voice clearing.  “Think you need more than a few bits of grass picking out of your hair, Doc,” Graham said.  He seemed to have recovered his breathing and was standing next to Ryan.  They were both looking at Yaz and the Doctor with an odd look on their faces.

“It can’t be that bad,” the Doctor responded bringing her hands up to her face.  As if on cue, a mirror popped up from the console behind her, accompanied by a few beeps.  She whipped around to look in it, frowning at what she saw.  “Alright it’s pretty bad.  I’d better go jump in the shower, I’ll leave the old girl drifting till I get back.  Don’t touch anything,” she said with a stern look at Ryan.

“I wasn’t gonna,” he protested, the Doctor already out of earshot.  “I swear she thinks I’m a kid.”

“You are a kid,” Yaz said fondly, bumping his shoulder on the way past, heading to her room.

“Oi, don’t think I didn’t notice that little display,” he called after her with a big grin on his face.  “Oh, Doctor, you’ve got something in your hair, just let me get really close to you while I get it out.”  The imitation of Yaz’s voice was terrible but it got the point across.

Yaz stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to face him, a dangerous look in her eyes.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she gritted out.

Unperturbed, Ryan responded, “Oh come on, it’s obvious you’ve got a thing for her.  And if you ask me the feeling’s mutual.”

“Oh don’t be stupid,” she scoffed, “we’re mates, that’s all.  Help me out Graham,” she said, turning to him for some support.

“Hey, I’m not getting involved,” he said, throwing his hands up, “whatever’s going on between you and the Doc is none of our business.  Right Ryan?” he pointedly shoved Ryan in the shoulder.

Ryan sighed out, “yeah, whatever,” then sloped off to his room, Graham following.

“There’s nothing going on,” Yaz practically screamed after them, “nothing! We’re just friends.”  Realising they were out of earshot she continued muttering to herself, “Nothing going on…just friends…the nerve…the audacity.”  The console beeped and whistled at her.  “Oh don’t you start,” she snapped at it before shaking her head and making her way to her room.

*****

They stepped off the Tardis onto a beautiful beach.  The sand was almost white, the water shimmered a light blue and the breeze took the edge off the heat from the twin suns.  All around them humanoids and various other different species of aliens mingled along the shore, some playing various games, some swimming, others just lying back and enjoying the sun.

“Welcome to Varian 7, one of the best resort worlds in the universe,” the Doctor beamed at them excitedly.  She was wearing beige capri pants that came just past the knee and a blue tank top.  Yaz pointedly avoided staring at her defined arms, instead opting for the safer option of taking in the scenery.  She herself was wearing a red one-piece costume with a burgundy sarong.  Ryan had opted to go shirtless and was already earning a few appreciative looks from various holiday makers which he seemed completely oblivious too, while Graham was in full grandad mode of shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and sandals.

Ryan immediately went off and started a conversation with a group a little further along who seemed to be playing some version of football.  Graham dropped into a nearby unoccupied sun lounger and promptly closed his eyes, putting Audrey Hepburn’s/Pythagoras’s sunglasses over his eyes and zoning out.

“Fancy a swim, Yaz?” the Doctor asked her remaining companion.

“Nah, think I’ll get some sun first.  You gonna be alright swimming in your clothes though?” she asked curiously.

“No worries, I’ve got a cozzie on underneath,” she grinned, before proceeding to strip her clothes off in front of Yaz revealing a navy blue bikini.

Yaz felt every scrap of heat in her body rush to her cheeks, and she had to collapse into the spare sun lounger next to Graham, her legs no longer able to support her.  _So much skin,_ she thought while outwardly managing a response that sounded like, “hnnnn.”  The Doctor bounded off towards the waves, and Yaz couldn’t help but think she _should not_ be allowed to run while wearing _that_.  It just wasn’t fair.  People could have heart failure or anything.

She shook herself and pulled her phone and book out of her shoulder bag and leaned back, listening to some music.  Eventually, Ryan came over to join them, lying in the sand.  They spent about half an hour like that, Yaz managing to banish all thoughts of the Doctor, engrossing herself in her book.  She told herself it wouldn’t be as bad seeing her the second time, that she was prepared.  Of course, she hadn’t considered the fact that the Doctor had been swimming.

“Hey, fam,” that familiar voice came from above Yaz and she put her book down.

The Doctor was dripping wet, her hair slicked back and glistening.  The heat from Yaz’s cheeks was now travelling south, and she couldn’t have stopped herself from staring if she wanted to.

“Good swim Doctor?” Ryan asked.

“Absolutely brilliant,” she beamed, “so much more refreshing than a dirty lake in Lancashire.”  As her attention was taken by Graham asking when they’d be leaving, Yaz felt a sharp elbow catch her in the side.

“Ow,” she said quietly, glaring at Ryan, “what was that for?”

“I’m helping you out,” he said innocently.  “You’re not gonna convince her you’re just mates if you keep looking at her like that.”

“We are just mates,” she whispered frantically.

He raised an eyebrow at her.  “Seriously?  Mates don’t look at each other like that.”

“Like what?” she responded defiantly.

“Like they want to rip each other’s clothes off,” he grinned, standing up and heading back towards the beach.

“Ryan!” she shouted after him.

“Everything alright Yaz?” she looked up into the concerned eyes of the Doctor.  “Not had a falling out have you?”  She nodded over her shoulder in the direction Ryan had gone.

“Nothing serious,” she replied, trying to keep the wobble out of her voice upon seeing the Doctor in all her glory again, “just a silly disagreement.”

“Oh good,” she smiled.  “if it’s anything I can help with, just let me know.”

 _I can think of a few things you could help with,_ her brain supplied.  “We’ll be fine,” she said out loud with a too-wide grin.

Later when they were back on the Tardis and they’d all gone to bed Yaz lay there, pondering the day.  _Okay so I’m attracted to the Doctor.  Nothing to worry about.  Totally manageable.  It’s just physical, nothing more._   She put a pillow over her face and screamed into it, before closing her eyes for the tenth time in an attempt to sleep.  Like all the times before however, as soon as she closed her eyes she was assailed with images of the Doctor emerging from the water, dripping wet.  _Completely fine_ , she thought weakly.

*****

Thinking back over their past adventures, Yaz tried to think of a time when she’d been in more danger than this.  They’d answered a distress call from another ship but by the time they’d arrived it had been taken over by pirates.  They’d immediately taken them prisoner with the rest of the crew.  Turns out they had no idea how the ships systems worked.

The Doctor had managed to remotely access the pirate’s own ship and had set it to self-destruct within an hour if they didn’t leave.  Their leader had called her bluff by dragging Yaz and throwing her into the nearest airlock, threatening to jettison her into space if the Doctor went through with it.  She’d immediately backed down, cancelling the self-destruct and handing over her sonic as insurance.  However instead of releasing Yaz, he’d set a timer of ten minutes before the airlock would eject her.

The timer inside the room showed five minutes remaining, and she could see the Doctor through the window, frantically trying to talk down the pirates pointing guns at her.  She looked like she was a second away from snapping and charging at them.

Four minutes.  She seemed to finally be getting through to them, the guns wavering.  Yaz didn’t know whether she was threatening them or offering them something but whatever it was it was working.  They finally lowered their weapons and she charged over to the controls.  Yaz put her hand against the window, sobbing quietly as she watched the Doctor work.

Three minutes.  The look on the Doctor’s face wasn’t particularly reassuring.  She looked beyond frustrated, briefly looking up and making eye contact with Yaz.  The pure guilt in her eyes made her cry harder and an instant later the Doctor’s eyes were back on the door controls, frantically entering codes and barking back over her shoulder, presumably asking someone for her sonic.

Two minutes.  _I love her_.  The thought appeared in Yaz’s brain, unbidden.  _I’m in love with her, and I’m never gonna get to tell her._   The realisation made her sink to her knees.  How had she not figured it out before now?  Over time, the casual touches and flirtations with the Doctor had become more frequent and, what’s more, had been reciprocated.  They’d come close a couple of times to crossing the barrier from friends to more than friends more than once since the trip to Varian 7, but the time just never seemed right.  _What a waste_ , she thought as she sat there waiting for her death.

One minute.  She closed her eyes, suddenly calm.  She thought of everyone she cared about.  Her family back home, who loved her no matter what.  Who had no idea where she was.  Ryan, who’d become like a brother to her, always protective and kind.  Graham, who was so gentle with her and always seemed to know the right thing to say to cheer her up.  The Doctor…

The Doctor who she couldn’t imagine her life without, who’d given her so much and asked so little in return, who always had a smile or a hug just for her.  Who she was totally, completely in love with.

She released all the air in her lungs as she heard a beep.  She heard somewhere that would help her survive slightly longer.  Instead of being sucked into space however, she heard a door open in front of her.

Opening her eyes she saw the Doctor standing before her, sonic in hand and tears in her eyes.  Behind her the pirates were hurrying away looking absolutely terrified but Yaz barely spared them a glance.  She thought absently that she’d never seen the Doctor cry before and it really didn’t suit her.  Someone that good and kind and wonderful should never cry.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on this however as the Doctor dropped to the floor in front of her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.  “I thought I’d lost you,” she sobbed.

“I knew you’d get me out,” Yaz lied, as she felt her own tears come again, “I’m never leaving you.”

“You’d better not,” the Doctor said she pulled away slightly and gave her a watery smile.

Not wanting to waste another second, Yaz leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the Doctor’s lips.  “I love you,” she murmured as she pulled away, grazing their noses together.

“I love you too,” the Doctor whispered, “but maybe we should talk about this later, hey?  Still got a ship to save.”

There wasn’t much saving left to do though.  The pirates seemingly couldn’t get off the ship fast enough.  Yaz would dearly love to know what the Doctor said to them, but she daren’t ask the woman herself for fear of upsetting her again.  When she asked Ryan and Graham later on they both told her she was better off not knowing, Graham giving off a shudder.

They handed command back over to the captain of the ship who thanked them profusely and apologised to Yaz for the danger she’d been put in.  “Don’t worry about it,” she said, smiling shyly at the Doctor, “I was in good hands.”  With that they said their goodbyes and went on their way.

Later, lying in the Doctor’s bed together completely sated, looking up at the stars and constellations on her ceiling, she asked, “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?” the Doctor responded, kissing the side of her head.

“When you said you loved me.  I meant it, but I feel like I put you on the spot a bit.”

The Doctor pulled Yaz on top of her so that she was looking down at her.  “Yasmin Khan,” she said, her eyes shining.  “I’ve never meant anything more.  Don’t ever doubt it.  I love you more than anything.”

Yaz smiled softly and lowered herself down, resting her head on the Doctor’s chest.  She closed her eyes and fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of two heartbeats against her ear.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the final part of my Thasmin Week series. Please go thank thasminlover on Tumblr for organising it if you get the chance (sorry but I don't know their username here). Thankyou to everyone who has left kudos or commented or even just stopped by to read this series and enjoyed it, it means a lot. And as always, kudos and comments are always appreciated x


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